Posts by Iler Campbell

Charlie Campbell, one of our founding partners, has just published his history of the planning fight over the development of Toronto’s West Queen West Triangle lands from 2005 to 2016. These are the lands south of Queen St from Dovercourt to Gladstone, bordered on the south by the rail line, that have seen massive transformation into a veritable ‘condo forest’ in recent years.

But it’s a lot more than a history – it includes a host of his trenchant observations and conclusions on what’s good and what’s bad with the planning process for new developments in Toronto. It’s also a valuable guide for how other communities facing development pressure can influence the process, which often feels rigged in favour of developers.

Charlie is a key volunteer member of Active 18, the community group that took the lead in advocating for good design, parks, arts and artists’ workspace, heritage preservation and other community focused goals in the new developments in the West Queen West Triangle. It makes for fascinating reading from anyone interested in planning issues and the intricacies of dealing with developers, city hall, the OMB and various other interested parties. It’s also not without some of Charlie’s infamous absurdist humor. Look for the almost entirely redacted section in the middle of the “WQW at the OMB” chapter that insinuates that Putin was somehow involved in the ordeal. Charlie’s hope is that community groups dealing with similar issues will find it useful.

Do you have unanswered questions about Bill 106, Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015?

As you are no doubt aware, the Bill is expected to come into force in the fall of 2018. It will introduce a number of changes to the Condominium Act 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19.

The Bill will create a Condominium Authority Tribunal to hear disputes between condominium owners and Boards. Parties will no longer need to go to court to litigate disputes with unit owners and/or the Board of Directors, unless they wish to appeal a decision of the Tribunal.

The Bill will also introduce the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 (the CMSA), which creates a separate administrative body to oversee the licensing of property managers working in condominiums throughout Ontario. Under the CMSA:

All property managers (both individual managers and property management companies) will need to be licensed as condominium management providers in order to supply services to condominiums;

Condominium managers, as part of the licensing process, will be required to take specific courses and exams administered by the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (ACMO); and

There will be two categories of condominium management licenses: general licenses, which allow for management of all aspects of a condominium; and limited licenses, which impose certain restrictions with respect to entering into contracts and managing funds on behalf of the condominium corporation.

Individual and property management companies will have 150 days from the date on which the Bill is proclaimed to apply for the license.

If you’d like to know more about the changes to condo law, join us for a free breakfast workshop on Friday September 15th. Sign up at condo-act.eventbrite.com and be sure you are subscribed to our blog for further updates. We welcome your input on questions you’d like to see addressed.

Once again this year, Iler Campbell LLP lawyers are honoured to have been asked to speak at the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Canada’s Co‑operative Management Conference and Member Education Forum in Niagara Falls this week. CHF Canada provides this annual opportunity for housing co‑opers from across the country to gather to discuss emerging issues, strategize about their collective response, make new friends and renew old acquaintances.

Celia Chandler, a regular presenter for CHF Canada and its regional federations, will participate in the legal issues town hall for managers on Wednesday. On Thursday, Celia will give a presentation to members on human rights and in particular, when co‑ops have a duty to accommodate behaviours that do not conform to the community standard.

Lauren Blumas, no stranger to the co‑op world, will deliver a workshop on Thursday afternoon on the legal issues stemming from aging in place. On Friday morning, Lauren and Andrew Noble of the Non‑Smokers’ Rights Association of Ontario will discuss how to deal with smokers in co‑op communities. This is sure to draw a crowd, especially with the federal promise of legalization of marijuana on the horizon.

If you’re at the conference, please be sure to say “hi” to Lauren and Celia. And stay tuned to this blog for future Iler Campbell speaking engagements.

In short: to do meaningful work for organizations making a difference in their community, while being mentored by a passionate team of practitioners.

As the only student in a small general service firm, you’ll get a taste of all our practice areas, including charity & non‑profit law, commercial law, real estate, human rights, landlord and tenant law, employment law, construction, corporate governance & structuring, estate law and civil litigation.

You’ll be exposed to all the firm’s major client groups, including housing co‑operatives, affordable housing developers, non‑profit organizations in a variety of industries, progressive for‑profit organizations.

What makes Iler Campbell different?

At Iler Campbell, we believe in the social goals of our clients, so we see our role as helping our clients do what they do – be it run a better housing co‑operative, build more renewable energy projects, create more affordable housing, or provide a charitable benefit.

We are actively involved in community‑level organizations by sitting on boards, committees or volunteering with non‑profit and charitable organizations.

What kind of work does the articling student do?

You will be asked to research and prepare client opinions that provide practical legal advice on a wide range of legal issues. Students are also trained to represent housing providers at the Landlord & Tenant Board at mediation sessions and merits hearings. Most of the firm’s civil litigation work comes from our corporate and real estate development clients; as a result, articling candidates should come expecting mostly solicitor and administrative law work – there is no guarantee that each articling period will involve much litigation. If any comes through the door, the articling student will be involved. This could include drafting submissions, preparing for examinations and disclosure, and observing court appearances. You may also get the chance to appear on simple motions or small claims court matters.

Most students are exposed to at least some stages of an affordable housing project ‑ from the purchase or sale of land, obtaining construction financing, the creation of a condominium corporation, to the sale of affordable housing units. For the student, work on these files can involve drafting agreements, organizing due diligence materials or reviewing closing documents.

Our articling student is also involved in the corporate law services we provide to our clients. This can involve reviewing by‑laws for legislative compliance, drafting employment or human rights policies and research on corporate structuring. These files involve consulting relevant legislation and preparing plain‑language materials that help our clients make decisions and understand their responsibilities as directors of a corporation, employers, housing providers, or in fulfilling their duties under the Human Rights Code or other relevant legislation.

We are a small firm, so there is no formal rotation. You will receive work directly from the lawyer working on the file and likely have a mix of litigation and corporate/transactional work on the go at the same time.

For example, in one day, you could be attending a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board in the morning, researching an employment law issue in the afternoon, and attending a housing co‑operative board meeting to review their by‑laws in the evening.

In sum, you can expect to be exposed to a very broad range of practice areas and have a real impact on the work we do for our co‑operative, non‑profit and progressive business clients.

Come article with us!

Please submit your application for the 2018-19 articling year by Friday, July 7 to info@ilercampbell.com. Please include a cover letter, resume, reference letters and copies of your transcripts. We look forward to hearing from you!

Lauren Blumas is featured in a CBC news article highlighting “creative solutions to unattainable house prices.” The article highlights: the trend of co-buying homes; a couple who’ve elected to stay renters in the city while buying income property outside of the city; and non-profit condo developer (and Iler Campbell client) Options for Homes.

Lauren is quoted on the need for “co-purchasers sign a legally binding document called a co-ownership or co-tenancy agreement prior to buying the home.”

On Saturday, March 4, 2017, we will host our first IC Education event in Durham Region. And we’d love to see you there! Our housing provider clients regularly inquire about human rights issues – how to distinguish a human right from a personal preference and how far the housing provider’s duty to accommodate extends. If you’d like to join us for our Human Rights Refresher at Otter Creek Co‑op in Whitby on Saturday, March 4, 2017, please register. We have a few spaces left.